My dear sisters and brothers
I wanted to take this opportunity to send you a message from the sisters and brothers in Gaza. Please hear our situation and tell everyone that you know and don't know. When the Zionists attacked us on 27th December 2008, they not only attacked Hamas, they not only attacked the Muslims of Gaza, they attacked Muslims everywhere. They attacked Islam in the hope that they will weaken it and ultimately destroy it and ummah of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم.And they will never stop here. They want the beloved Al Aqsa, they want the West Bank and believe me when I tell you that they want the whole of the Middle East.But they will never succeed. They will never remove the light of Allah inshAllah.
Our situation is dire but our iman is strong Alhamdulillah, even though we have no water to speak of, and when we do, it is polluted and diseased. We have no money to buy mineral water. When we find the money those that sell it say that it is too dangerous for them to travel out to get new supplies. We have no gas, and have not had for the last four months. We cook the little food we have on real fires that we have learned to prepare.Our men have lost all of their jobs. They spend their days at home now. My husband can spend a day just going from place to place just for the basic need of water. He usually returns empty handed. There are no schools, no banks from which we can withdraw our money. Few hospitals are open for our wounded. You are constantly aware that you risk your life when you go out and when you are indoors. They give us a curfew between 1-4pm. We can go out, they say, in safety to get your supplies, but that is a lie. They have often used that opportunity to add more shuhadaa to their list.We eat one day rice and one day bread. Meat and milk are a luxury. They are using chemical warfare in the areas which are on the borders. They are killing us by bullets and tanks and B52s, but they are also killing us slowly by starving our children, inflicting indescribable diseases with their chemical warfare and laughing as our suffering becomes prolonged and unbearable.
All this and we are being told that people demonstrate all over the world. MashAllah the fact that you go to embassies and leave your homes makes us feel truly that we are not alone in our struggle.But you go home at night and lock your door. We cannot do that. I have to leave my home on the second floor every night and stay with my sister on the ground floor. Should there be an attack, it's quicker to leave from the ground floor.
But the ummah is asking where are the Muslim armies? Where is the victory? And where is our true leader who will save us from this death? Where are the armies of Salahadeen Ayubi? Do not look to the UN, they recognised Israel in 1949 as a state and sealed our fate as it is today. Do not turn to America or Britain, did they not invade our ummah in Iraq and Afghanistan. Call the armies in Egypt, in Syria, in Turkey, in Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan. In Bangladesh, in the Gulf, in Indonesia and in Libya where are they? Are they content to watch women scream for their help as they bury their young children? Are the screams of their sisters and brothers falling on deaf ears? We have a right to eat and drink in safety and security. We have a right to laugh and live in hope, do we not?Yes we are tired. When we hear rockets and bombs and see planes that fly too close to our building, I scream with my young son and my husband feels helpless. The brothers will know what it must be like to feel helpless to protect the honour and lives of your family. It kills something of him inside. We often wonder when will they sell our land cheaply, will it take one thousand or two thousand deaths. We wait to see.
The Israelis have started to plan where their settlements will be in Gaza. This is what we have become.In all this there is no one but Allah سبحانه وتعالى that can save us. Don't forget us because you are all that we have now. Your sadaqaat is not reaching us, and when they open borders it only reaches a few who can do nothing with it because we risk our lives just to buy food. They will kill anyone, anyone even if he is a five year old child carrying food for his family. We want to live from the sweat of our men, not from the sweat of others because we are dying.Keep up the work of Allah and pray and work for the victory that will come soon and rescue our ummah everywhere inshAllah.May Allah سبحانه وتعالى make us steadfast in our deen, during struggle and during ease. Ya Allah bring us the victory soon and re-establish Islam as the authority by which we live, Ya Allah send us the sons of Salahudeen, the army of Islam to rescue Mohammed's صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم ummah from the oppression under which we live. Ya Allah protect our children and remove the zionists from our land. Ya Allah witness today that we account our rulers, we pray that you return our true leader the Khaleefah soon.
Ameen.
والسلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاتهYour sister umm Taqi
Showing posts with label Palestine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Palestine. Show all posts
Wednesday, 28 January 2009
Monday, 19 January 2009
Tuesday, 13 January 2009
Our precious jewels
This is the third time I'm editing this post. I write it, look at the picture, and keep coming back.
Our sweet precious jewels,
You lie there with such innocent and peaceful looks on your faces. Indeed, your souls must be safe with Allah SWT, in Allah's firm grasp. You have been taken from us, in the midst of a storm, but we cannot forget you. Because you have been the sacrifice of our inactivity, our complacency and the need for our rulers to save their own thrones, before they save your sweet hearts.
You remind us that we have no rest in our day, no peace in our quiet moments and no ease in our lives, until justice descends this world. Justice which allows your brothers and sisters still in this dunya, to play and breathe in safety, under the shield of a sincere Khalif.
I wish you a sweet journey to Almighty Allah SWT as I'm sure Jannah awaits, impatiently, for you.
I wanted to share with you the thoughts that passed as I saw this - That that could have been my children... And moreover they ARE my children.
More than a third of those killed in Gaza have been children - crushed by the rubble of their house collapsing upon them, having their arm, leg or head blown off by an airstrike or being sprayed incessantly by shrapnel, they are suffering it all. March this Sunday, for the Children of Gaza. Marble Arch, Zuhr Salah.
'The Ummah (Muslim community) is like one body. If one part of it hurts, then the rest of it reacts with restlessness and fever. ' The Prophet SAW (Muslim)
Thursday, 8 January 2009
The real crisis for Gaza
On 27th December 2008, Israel began its latest intense offensive against the people of Gaza, claiming a need to protect their citizens from Hamas rockets.
The entire region is being targeted, everyone a potential threat to Israel's thunderous campaign and although Israel claims to be fighting Hamas, it is evident that the targets and victims of Israel's war are innocent women and children. In fact, over a third of the deaths in Gaza to date in this current conflict, have been children. Israel has additionally kept its forced blockade in place, meaning the 1.5 million living in Gaza - men women and children – are imprisoned in this killing field.
And as the world's media focussed upon this region, questioning what would happen, all the Israeli Government officials can say, is that they were just protecting themselves from Hamas' offensive. Tzipi Livni, the Israeli Foreign Minister said, when questioned about the evident dis-proportionality in how Israel was reacting to Hamas’ few and far between rockets, 'This is the expression of self-defense, the right of self-defense of a state.' However this seems absurd when everyone knows that the rockets Hamas fire, are nothing in comparison with the latest technology Israel uses in their warfare and the effect is evident in the fact that a few days into the offensive 430 Palestinians had been killed, whilst number of Israelis killed were 4.
Even though the treachery of Israel is so clear to see, the international community still do not act. All the UN Secretary General could say, after the first few days of the conflict, was that the violence was ‘deeply saddening’ and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called it, ‘appalling’ – and it was not even clear who this was exactly directed at. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, in his new role representing the West as their Middle East envoy, called for a ceasefire which would firstly ‘protect Israel’ and almost as a sidepoint(!) end the violence for those in Gaza.
We would think that the Muslim rulers may have been better in protecting the brethren of their deen. But not surprisingly, their inaction is even worse. The Egyptian people have become frustrated with Hosni Mubarak’s inability to even break ties with Israel and there are rumours of rifts in the Egyptian army due to this. King Abdullah and Queen Rania of Jordan have been passionately donating their blood for the injured in Gaza, but cannot donate their words of opposition or actions to deal with their transgressing Israeli neighbour. Even Assad of Syria, who is supposed to be the most anti-Israeli has been having tea with the French President ambling through discussions on how both parties can stop the violence. The ability for Israel to do as they please is clearly protected by the entire international community, which comes before their need to actually stop the bloodbath being created in Gaza.
Moreover the discussions happening within the international community are all about how to end the current bout of violence. This is clearly evading the real issue as trying to get Israel to stop the current intense violence, still does not solve the fact that the people in Gaza are subject to the curfews and blockades of Israel in their everyday daily lives, food supplies and all other imports or exports in and out of Palestine will always be subject to Israeli control, and the ability to run Palestine like a puppet will still be in the hands of Israel. Whether the current violence ends or not, Israel will still be free to apply all of its injustices and controls to Palestine as it has done for the past 60 years. Just because the current conflict has been forced onto the media and political stage, does not mean that when other stories have dominated people’s minds in the past 60 years, the suffering in Palestine even if less intense, has not been as acute.
Therefore we need to be clear that the problem is not just the current violence, it’s the reason for why the current violence can occur in the first place and this is the very existence of Israel. From 1948, when the land on which Israel sits was stolen from the Muslims and given to the Israelis for them to establish their state on, was the day the green light was given for the Muslims in that region to live under occupation, oppression and tyranny.
Therefore we need to understand very succinctly that this problem is not a problem of violence and killing in itself, but is the fact that the very existence of Israel is illegitimate and came about from the theft of Muslim land. This is the bottom line, and unless we deal with the problem from the roots, we will forever be trying to deal with the problems which manifest as a result, such as the current offensive.
And although people call this crisis a humanitarian crisis, or a national struggle; it is more than anything, an Islamic crisis. As the land of Palestine was stolen from the Muslim Ummah and the theft of Muslim land, is indeed a serious issue in Islam. The Prophet SAW said, ‘That he who gives one hands span of Muslim land away, will experience a hand span of the hellfire.’ It is therefore clear that the theft of Muslim land is an issue that should shake our souls, just as our souls were shaken when the Prophet SAW’s name was defamed in recent books and cartoons, and when the Quran was flushed down the toilet in Guantanamo Bay.
And before any bond, it is the bond of Iman between the Muslims which makes us a strong unit who feel each others sorrow and pain like our own. The Prophet SAW said, ‘The Ummah is like a body, when one part of it hurts, the rest of it reacts with restlessness and fever.’ So whatever nationality we are, Bangladeshi, Pakistani or Chinese, the suffering of our brothers and sisters is definitely our problem, that we need to seek a solution for. But some of us feel that by donating charity to the victims in Gaza, we have fulfilled their right over us - Charity is indeed a rewardable action, in the eyes of Allah SWT, but this is not the solution for the actual problem of the occupation of Palestine as charity will keep the people alive and feed and clothe them, but it will in no way change their situation. Even if they are fed and clothed, tomorrow they will still be subject to Israeli tyranny, as they had been today. And if we believe that by giving charity we have done our bit for our brothers and sisters in that region, then we do them a great disservice. As they do not want to be kept alive in this living hell, they want to be liberated from it.
It is without the doubt that the Capitalist ideology with its premise of seeking benefit and economic interest has enabled the Palestinian people to remain in the situation that they are. For the Western world, having a key ally such as Israel in the heart of the Muslim world, where they fear Muslim unity and independence; is of paramount benefit. Thus it is ludicrous for us to hope that by protesting and appealing to the Western world with a humanitarian plea, we can achieve change and justice. As capitalism puts benefit of its nation states first, before the wellbeing of people. The state of poverty in the world in places such as Africa, today is testimount to the fact that the wellbeing of people is of lesser importance to those nations who hold the Capitalist ideology, over the need to usurp and accumulate wealth and power. Therefore it is a futile action to try and get Capitalist nations to solve the problem of Palestine, as they will never see the occupation of the region as something they need to set right as there is not benefit in it for them, moreover Israel’s existence is in their benefit. Therefore if there is no room for uncompromising justice within capitalism, then we clearly need to seek an alternative system to live by which does have this as its cornerstone.
The Islamic ideology is the only alternative option for the world today, if we wish for the return of uncompromising justice. It is an Islamic government, led by a sincere Khalif, which will care about the bloodshed of the Palestinians and ensure that the occupation of the land is a priority to be dealt with. The Islamic Khilafah will put the wellbeing of its Ummah and the lands of Islam, before the accumulation of wealth or the need to be arrogant and powerful. The Prophet SAW said, ‘The Imam is a shield for the Ummah, from behind which they fight and are protected.’
Many years after the Rightly Guided Khalifs, even during the period of intense decline for the Islamic Khilafah, the Khalif Sultan Abdul Hamid II in the late 19th century, when asked by the father of Zionism Dr Hertzel whether he would sell Palestine, his response was very stark:
‘Palestine is not mine to give. My people have fought with blood
and sweat to protect this land. Let the Jews keep their millions
and once the Khilafah is torn apart one day, they can have Palestine
without a price’
My dear sisters in Islam! The blessed rule of Allah has been torn to shreds in our lands today, and Palestine today it is true, has no price for our rulers. It will only be the Islamic Khilafah, led by a sincere Khalif, who can deal with the transgressing Israel and protect our Muslim brothers and sisters in Palestine. It is a sincere Khalif who will gather together all the soldiers he can find and all the resources he can muster to march forth in order to retrieve back the land of Al Quds and restore to this noble Ummah what is rightfully theirs, under the most rightful rule.
So my dear sisters in Islam! Work towards this solution which will relieve our suffering Ummah, and do not prolong their pain by engaging yourself in other futile acts, in the hope that they will alleviate the suffering of your Muslim brethren, as surely any other ceasefire, roadmap or compromise will end as being a mirage and return us to our degraded position. Rather be part of the work to bring back a righteous ruler who rules by what Allah revealed and return justice to the face of this earth:
Allâh has promised those among you who believe, and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession to (the present rulers) in the earth, as He granted it to those before them, and that He will grant them the authority to practise their religion, that which He has chosen for them (i.e. Islâm). And He will surely give them in exchange a safe security after their fear (provided) they (believers) worship Me and do not associate anything (in worship) with Me. But whoever disbelieved after this, they are the Fâsiqûn (rebellious, disobedient to Allâh). (TMQ 24:55)
The entire region is being targeted, everyone a potential threat to Israel's thunderous campaign and although Israel claims to be fighting Hamas, it is evident that the targets and victims of Israel's war are innocent women and children. In fact, over a third of the deaths in Gaza to date in this current conflict, have been children. Israel has additionally kept its forced blockade in place, meaning the 1.5 million living in Gaza - men women and children – are imprisoned in this killing field.
And as the world's media focussed upon this region, questioning what would happen, all the Israeli Government officials can say, is that they were just protecting themselves from Hamas' offensive. Tzipi Livni, the Israeli Foreign Minister said, when questioned about the evident dis-proportionality in how Israel was reacting to Hamas’ few and far between rockets, 'This is the expression of self-defense, the right of self-defense of a state.' However this seems absurd when everyone knows that the rockets Hamas fire, are nothing in comparison with the latest technology Israel uses in their warfare and the effect is evident in the fact that a few days into the offensive 430 Palestinians had been killed, whilst number of Israelis killed were 4.
Even though the treachery of Israel is so clear to see, the international community still do not act. All the UN Secretary General could say, after the first few days of the conflict, was that the violence was ‘deeply saddening’ and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called it, ‘appalling’ – and it was not even clear who this was exactly directed at. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, in his new role representing the West as their Middle East envoy, called for a ceasefire which would firstly ‘protect Israel’ and almost as a sidepoint(!) end the violence for those in Gaza.
We would think that the Muslim rulers may have been better in protecting the brethren of their deen. But not surprisingly, their inaction is even worse. The Egyptian people have become frustrated with Hosni Mubarak’s inability to even break ties with Israel and there are rumours of rifts in the Egyptian army due to this. King Abdullah and Queen Rania of Jordan have been passionately donating their blood for the injured in Gaza, but cannot donate their words of opposition or actions to deal with their transgressing Israeli neighbour. Even Assad of Syria, who is supposed to be the most anti-Israeli has been having tea with the French President ambling through discussions on how both parties can stop the violence. The ability for Israel to do as they please is clearly protected by the entire international community, which comes before their need to actually stop the bloodbath being created in Gaza.
Moreover the discussions happening within the international community are all about how to end the current bout of violence. This is clearly evading the real issue as trying to get Israel to stop the current intense violence, still does not solve the fact that the people in Gaza are subject to the curfews and blockades of Israel in their everyday daily lives, food supplies and all other imports or exports in and out of Palestine will always be subject to Israeli control, and the ability to run Palestine like a puppet will still be in the hands of Israel. Whether the current violence ends or not, Israel will still be free to apply all of its injustices and controls to Palestine as it has done for the past 60 years. Just because the current conflict has been forced onto the media and political stage, does not mean that when other stories have dominated people’s minds in the past 60 years, the suffering in Palestine even if less intense, has not been as acute.
Therefore we need to be clear that the problem is not just the current violence, it’s the reason for why the current violence can occur in the first place and this is the very existence of Israel. From 1948, when the land on which Israel sits was stolen from the Muslims and given to the Israelis for them to establish their state on, was the day the green light was given for the Muslims in that region to live under occupation, oppression and tyranny.
Therefore we need to understand very succinctly that this problem is not a problem of violence and killing in itself, but is the fact that the very existence of Israel is illegitimate and came about from the theft of Muslim land. This is the bottom line, and unless we deal with the problem from the roots, we will forever be trying to deal with the problems which manifest as a result, such as the current offensive.
And although people call this crisis a humanitarian crisis, or a national struggle; it is more than anything, an Islamic crisis. As the land of Palestine was stolen from the Muslim Ummah and the theft of Muslim land, is indeed a serious issue in Islam. The Prophet SAW said, ‘That he who gives one hands span of Muslim land away, will experience a hand span of the hellfire.’ It is therefore clear that the theft of Muslim land is an issue that should shake our souls, just as our souls were shaken when the Prophet SAW’s name was defamed in recent books and cartoons, and when the Quran was flushed down the toilet in Guantanamo Bay.
And before any bond, it is the bond of Iman between the Muslims which makes us a strong unit who feel each others sorrow and pain like our own. The Prophet SAW said, ‘The Ummah is like a body, when one part of it hurts, the rest of it reacts with restlessness and fever.’ So whatever nationality we are, Bangladeshi, Pakistani or Chinese, the suffering of our brothers and sisters is definitely our problem, that we need to seek a solution for. But some of us feel that by donating charity to the victims in Gaza, we have fulfilled their right over us - Charity is indeed a rewardable action, in the eyes of Allah SWT, but this is not the solution for the actual problem of the occupation of Palestine as charity will keep the people alive and feed and clothe them, but it will in no way change their situation. Even if they are fed and clothed, tomorrow they will still be subject to Israeli tyranny, as they had been today. And if we believe that by giving charity we have done our bit for our brothers and sisters in that region, then we do them a great disservice. As they do not want to be kept alive in this living hell, they want to be liberated from it.
It is without the doubt that the Capitalist ideology with its premise of seeking benefit and economic interest has enabled the Palestinian people to remain in the situation that they are. For the Western world, having a key ally such as Israel in the heart of the Muslim world, where they fear Muslim unity and independence; is of paramount benefit. Thus it is ludicrous for us to hope that by protesting and appealing to the Western world with a humanitarian plea, we can achieve change and justice. As capitalism puts benefit of its nation states first, before the wellbeing of people. The state of poverty in the world in places such as Africa, today is testimount to the fact that the wellbeing of people is of lesser importance to those nations who hold the Capitalist ideology, over the need to usurp and accumulate wealth and power. Therefore it is a futile action to try and get Capitalist nations to solve the problem of Palestine, as they will never see the occupation of the region as something they need to set right as there is not benefit in it for them, moreover Israel’s existence is in their benefit. Therefore if there is no room for uncompromising justice within capitalism, then we clearly need to seek an alternative system to live by which does have this as its cornerstone.
The Islamic ideology is the only alternative option for the world today, if we wish for the return of uncompromising justice. It is an Islamic government, led by a sincere Khalif, which will care about the bloodshed of the Palestinians and ensure that the occupation of the land is a priority to be dealt with. The Islamic Khilafah will put the wellbeing of its Ummah and the lands of Islam, before the accumulation of wealth or the need to be arrogant and powerful. The Prophet SAW said, ‘The Imam is a shield for the Ummah, from behind which they fight and are protected.’
Many years after the Rightly Guided Khalifs, even during the period of intense decline for the Islamic Khilafah, the Khalif Sultan Abdul Hamid II in the late 19th century, when asked by the father of Zionism Dr Hertzel whether he would sell Palestine, his response was very stark:
‘Palestine is not mine to give. My people have fought with blood
and sweat to protect this land. Let the Jews keep their millions
and once the Khilafah is torn apart one day, they can have Palestine
without a price’
My dear sisters in Islam! The blessed rule of Allah has been torn to shreds in our lands today, and Palestine today it is true, has no price for our rulers. It will only be the Islamic Khilafah, led by a sincere Khalif, who can deal with the transgressing Israel and protect our Muslim brothers and sisters in Palestine. It is a sincere Khalif who will gather together all the soldiers he can find and all the resources he can muster to march forth in order to retrieve back the land of Al Quds and restore to this noble Ummah what is rightfully theirs, under the most rightful rule.
So my dear sisters in Islam! Work towards this solution which will relieve our suffering Ummah, and do not prolong their pain by engaging yourself in other futile acts, in the hope that they will alleviate the suffering of your Muslim brethren, as surely any other ceasefire, roadmap or compromise will end as being a mirage and return us to our degraded position. Rather be part of the work to bring back a righteous ruler who rules by what Allah revealed and return justice to the face of this earth:
Allâh has promised those among you who believe, and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession to (the present rulers) in the earth, as He granted it to those before them, and that He will grant them the authority to practise their religion, that which He has chosen for them (i.e. Islâm). And He will surely give them in exchange a safe security after their fear (provided) they (believers) worship Me and do not associate anything (in worship) with Me. But whoever disbelieved after this, they are the Fâsiqûn (rebellious, disobedient to Allâh). (TMQ 24:55)
A forward I received on practical actions we can do for Gaza
The massacre and genocide in Gaza still continues and our brothers and sisters are in a dire situation, with nothing apart from stones and rockets to protect them. Please constantly call and email the egyptian embassy, Egypt has an army of 450,000 soldiers compared to 180,000 israeli troops. Call on the arab-muslim armies to defend Gaza.
Sunday 11th January 2009 - Is a demonstration going to the Egyptian, Syrian and Saudi Embassy. GATHERING AT MARBLE ARCH 12.30pm (nearest tube Marble arch station), and ending with a congregation prayer insha'Allah.
phone and email these embassies on a daily basis and ask why they have supported Israel's massacre in Gaza, why they did nothing to defend the muslims in Gaza? and why they continue their TREATIES WITH ISRAEL?
Egyptian Embassy Tel: 020 7499 3304/2401
Jordanian Embassy Tel 020 79373685
Syrian Embassy Tel 020 72459012
Saudi Embassy Tel 020 79173000
Egypt alone has 450,000 regular troops to Israel's 180,000; and comparable levels of tanks and aircrafts. Combined these countries are overwhelmingly more powerful. Yet they do nothing.
Below is an action plan that we sisters can insha'Allah try and follow up:
ACTION POINTS:
1) EMAIL/ PHONE UP MUSLIM EMBASSIES MENTIONED IN THE NOTE above
2) KEEP THE DISCUSSION GOING ABOUT THE ARAB/ MUSLIM LEADERS & THEIR TREACHERY ON THE BUSSES, TUBE EVERYWHERE
3) ATTEND DEMONSTRATIONS WHICH ARE INLINE WITH ISLAM...OUR ARMIES IN THE MUSLIM LANDS SHOULD DEFEND THE PEOPLE OF PALESTINE LIKE SALAH UD DIN DID!!! BE VERY CLEAR, WHAT THE OBJECTIVE OF THE ORGANISER IS? AS WE ARE ACCOUNTABLE FOR WHAT WE BECOME PART OF! WHY DO WE DEMONSTRATE OUTSIDE ISRAELI EMBASSY? We must also not fool ourselves in to thinking that foreign powers and institutions such solve this current crisis or indeed any other in the Muslim world. These powers look after their own interests only and are themselves guilty of wars and massacres against Muslims. They show their double standards by invading and occupying Muslim lands on false pretences, yet are reduced to issuing hollow words of chastisement to Israel over its current acts of barbarism.
4) WRITE TO MEDIA OUTLETS/ BLOGS ETC
5) DONT ALLOW YOURSELF TO BECOME IMMUNE TO THE BLOOD OF OUR BROTHERS, SISTERS AND CHILDREN...keep updated with news, ONE THING THAT MIGHT HELP IS MAY BE MAKE ALJAZEERA.NET/ ENGLISH YOUR HOMEPAGE OR CUT THE PICTURES OR PRINT THEM & KEEP THEM ON YOU
6) LAST BUT NOT LEAST INCREASE THE RECOMMENDED ACTIONS, OF DUA, TAHUJJUD, SURAH FATH(49) AND BEG ALLAH SWT DURING THE LAST PART OF THE NIGHT TO END THE SUFFERINGS OF GAZAN'S & THE RETURN OF KHILAFAH.
Monday, 5 January 2009
Do the Muslims of Gaza cry for blankets and gourmet cuisine?
I switched on my TV to try and get the latest news on the terrible situation of our brethren in Gaza. Although I attended the big demonstration today in London, calling all the Arab rulers to account for their inaction, I still find that after the cooking, cleaning, wiping runny noses and picking up toys, the thoughts of Gaza start escaping me. So in a worried flurry I feel I need to feel what's happening again - I mean if it was my mother, sister and own children, would I just switch off just because I'd been to a demo for a couple of hours that day? It might have made me feel like I'd done my bit today, and I could go to sleep content tonight, but it's not about me is it? It's all about them. And their suffering doesn't end, even though I can switch my TV off... Anyway having found some actual footage of Gaza which seemed to vaguely reflect what might be happening, I found a very pleasant brother inshaAllah I pray, earnestly raising funds for his Muslim brethren in Gaza on this particular channel. He pleaded with the Ummah to remember their brothers and sisters, and their relationship to them, and empty their pockets so the charity could send food and other necessities in this trying time. It was the emergency 'Gaza crisis appeal' and the harrowing images on the side of the screen accompanied the bank details of the Islamic charity who were conducting this noble cause.
I really pray Allah SWT rewards the brother and all those who assisted him on that programme for his efforts, and for reminding us all that those people out there are our people, just as much as the very people we live with in our home. However it made me think - when I have watched footage of an absolutely devestated mother, mourning the death of her 3 children, the thought about how she would feed herself, or even keep herself warm that night, really wasn't the first thought to strike me. All I could think about was how could her three innocent children be slaughtered in this way in the first place? Of course I pray the woman is fed and clothed properly, after the ordeal she has been through, but much more than that - I pray that no other woman like her has to go through what she went through.
It is without a doubt the people of Gaza will need emergency provisions over the coming days, as they always have, and many charities have been dedicated and committed to accomplishing this. Nobody would deny this is a weighty and noble cause. However food, shelter and clothing has no bearing on the occupation, oppression and absolute injustice the people of Gaza are subject to, day in day out, not just over the last few days, but since the establishment of Israel. There was a grandmother giving a television interview a while back and she was talking about how she has lived in the muddy squalor of a refugee camp, in a makeshift tent for so many years, and now her grandchildren have the honour of experiencing this too. Food and clothing from charities was what largely fed this woman and her family, and may Allah give the people who provided this for them, much reward. However no amount of food and clothing has been able to enable this woman, her children and her grandchildren to return to their rightful home, occupied by Israelis. Charity has kept her alive, but not at all changed her situation.
Making ourselves feel better, I think, is something key. Because in the society we live in, often charity - be it Children in Need, comic relief - is often plugged by reminding people how good it feels to help others. And this is natural within human beings, that we like to help others like ourselves, but this shouldn't be why we do it. As if this is the case, we may do the action which makes us feel better, but is not in the best interest of those we are helping. The emotion of seeing the dead and injured in Gaza, makes us want to have some sort of release - Emptying your pocket there and then, has an instantaneous result and can give us the feeling that we have done our bit. We can then brush our hands and walk away to get on with our lives. However if we have the wellbeing and best interests of the people at heart, then we will realise that giving charity helps, but is in no way the solution for the problem in Palestine and if we do give charity, we can in no way feel that we have done our bit period.
The solution for the tanks and ground forces which have recently wormed their way into Gaza is of course not blankets and food. It's resistance, as strong as the offensive is. It's a resistance that has the capacity and capabilities to fight the likes of tanks and state of the art phosphorus bombs, led by a just ruler who does not have revenge or personal power at his heart - But has the oppressed people, and the stolen land as his central drive. Unless we call for this, we will just be feeding and clothing the people in Gaza to keep them alive and well, and as better bait, for the Israeli soldiers to come and kill. A bit crude, but that's it really, isn't it?
A Muslim does not act by emotion or by the rage of his heart, he is higher than this. He is led by his mind and its thinking to undertake the correct actions, in line with Islam. Thus let us not be like those who act purely by base desires, doing things because it makes us feel good, regardless of what the consequences and impact is. As let's face it - as the tanks roll in through the thick of the night, and the bombs illuminate the black, still sky as I write, do the people of Gaza really cry for a wide variety of foods and a selection of clothes?
I really pray Allah SWT rewards the brother and all those who assisted him on that programme for his efforts, and for reminding us all that those people out there are our people, just as much as the very people we live with in our home. However it made me think - when I have watched footage of an absolutely devestated mother, mourning the death of her 3 children, the thought about how she would feed herself, or even keep herself warm that night, really wasn't the first thought to strike me. All I could think about was how could her three innocent children be slaughtered in this way in the first place? Of course I pray the woman is fed and clothed properly, after the ordeal she has been through, but much more than that - I pray that no other woman like her has to go through what she went through.
It is without a doubt the people of Gaza will need emergency provisions over the coming days, as they always have, and many charities have been dedicated and committed to accomplishing this. Nobody would deny this is a weighty and noble cause. However food, shelter and clothing has no bearing on the occupation, oppression and absolute injustice the people of Gaza are subject to, day in day out, not just over the last few days, but since the establishment of Israel. There was a grandmother giving a television interview a while back and she was talking about how she has lived in the muddy squalor of a refugee camp, in a makeshift tent for so many years, and now her grandchildren have the honour of experiencing this too. Food and clothing from charities was what largely fed this woman and her family, and may Allah give the people who provided this for them, much reward. However no amount of food and clothing has been able to enable this woman, her children and her grandchildren to return to their rightful home, occupied by Israelis. Charity has kept her alive, but not at all changed her situation.
Making ourselves feel better, I think, is something key. Because in the society we live in, often charity - be it Children in Need, comic relief - is often plugged by reminding people how good it feels to help others. And this is natural within human beings, that we like to help others like ourselves, but this shouldn't be why we do it. As if this is the case, we may do the action which makes us feel better, but is not in the best interest of those we are helping. The emotion of seeing the dead and injured in Gaza, makes us want to have some sort of release - Emptying your pocket there and then, has an instantaneous result and can give us the feeling that we have done our bit. We can then brush our hands and walk away to get on with our lives. However if we have the wellbeing and best interests of the people at heart, then we will realise that giving charity helps, but is in no way the solution for the problem in Palestine and if we do give charity, we can in no way feel that we have done our bit period.
The solution for the tanks and ground forces which have recently wormed their way into Gaza is of course not blankets and food. It's resistance, as strong as the offensive is. It's a resistance that has the capacity and capabilities to fight the likes of tanks and state of the art phosphorus bombs, led by a just ruler who does not have revenge or personal power at his heart - But has the oppressed people, and the stolen land as his central drive. Unless we call for this, we will just be feeding and clothing the people in Gaza to keep them alive and well, and as better bait, for the Israeli soldiers to come and kill. A bit crude, but that's it really, isn't it?
A Muslim does not act by emotion or by the rage of his heart, he is higher than this. He is led by his mind and its thinking to undertake the correct actions, in line with Islam. Thus let us not be like those who act purely by base desires, doing things because it makes us feel good, regardless of what the consequences and impact is. As let's face it - as the tanks roll in through the thick of the night, and the bombs illuminate the black, still sky as I write, do the people of Gaza really cry for a wide variety of foods and a selection of clothes?
Monday, 29 December 2008
Who will ever break the silence on Israel?
Deeply saddening, appalling is indeed the violence in Gaza, as our world leaders have called it. Events which stir our emotions intensely. But more than emotion, we all feel a view, have an opinion as politics doesn't just conjure feeling, it conjures thought and viewpoints as more than anything its about how we look after mankind in the world we live in. And in this present world we live in, it has to be said not only is the Palestinian conflict one of the most saddening, but is one which conjures the most political voice. For even the most apolitical amongst us, we all have a view about whether those people who claimed their homeland after around 2000 years, were right to do so, or wrong.
I remember some years ago, before I came to Islam, I was travelling in Morocco with a young Jewish girl who told me about how her parents envisaged settling in Israel one day from the UK, as their ultimate dream. At that time all I knew about Israel was, that it was a place in the middle east which came up in the news now and again, but didn't really know why and I wasn't that bothered either. When I returned to the UK, I ambled through some news pages in a vague attempt to maybe find out about this Israel. All I read was Israel was suffering at the hands of Palestinians and Palestinians were suffering at the hands of Israelis. Seemed like another classic conflict situation with some sort of history I'd never get but I hoped, as a passing thought, that both sides would meet in the middle somewhere. Thats classic conflict mediation isn't it, even in marriages, it's all about meeting somewhere in the middle; compromise. Both sides had to do their bit.
A couple of years later, my attachment to my Muslim brethren, urged me to read up on the history of Palestine and Israel. I read about a group of people homeless in Europe. I read about them set their eyes on a land they not only wanted to live in, but rule over. I read about them coming into Palestine and throwing people out of their homes, bulldozing them down and making people refugees in their own land. I read about bloodshed, I read about their domination, occupation spreading like a infectious disease. I read about their sophisticated missiles and tanks, whose design, manufacture was aided in Britain and America; massacre families, and the resistance of the Palestinians named as terrorism. Palestinians who grew up generation after generation in the muddy squalor of refugee camps in their own land attempted to fight this occupation with whatever they had. I read it all. Then came the wall, the blockades and the intense attacks of the last few days.
This was Israel. This was occupation, domination and suffering to the nth degee whilst the world watched, calling it deeply saddening and terribly appalling, but never wrong.
There have been many demos over the last few days, asking Israel to stop the attacks - and despite news reports saying that they won't until Hamas does, we must be slightly loopy if we ever believe they will put an end to their agenda which has been ruthlessly undertaken over the past century. And the West - they will never verbalise Israel's cruelty, as they are the ones who set the cannon loose and gave the go-ahead all those years ago. It's a silence that will never be broken in Washington or London, and if we don't own up to this, we continue to leave the suffering Palestinians stranded in a problem which has been sugarcoated and sold to us as a solution through roadmaps and ceasefires.
The solution lies in a place which we don't always look. Like a action-packed thriller, where the director misguides you into thinking who the killer is, masking the real one in order to create that all breath-taking twist, the Muslims will also face their twist. The realisation that sustainable change can only come from the solution Allah SWT gives us for our politics. Lobbying MPs, pressuring Israel, all these things serve to divert us from the real solution - the armies of the Muslim lands - who did they stand to defend? The thousands and thousands of people, weaponry who make up the Muslim armies - where and for what reason do they stand idle?
Allah SWT will ask the rulers of the Muslim world, where were their ears and their eyes as the missiles fell, one after the other? These rulers we know prefer to shake the hands of the perpetrators than straighten them, in order to keep their seats of power. But Allah Almighty is the owner of the Heavens and the Earth, and it is He who can destroy all 50+ of them and their kingdoms in a fell swoop and one day InshaAllah He will. There will come a day, as Allah SWT has promised where just Islamic rule will return to this Earth and liberate all the oppressed. This is the only solution which can pool together the resources of the Muslim world, and create the unity to enable a resistance which stands to the likes as those of Israel. This is the solution which doesn't accept a few Palestinian homes being returned, or a few Palestinians being allowed to work - This is the solution which will return an uncompromising rule of law which favours no race, only justice, to the Arabian plains. I pray that we are strong enough to remember this and become part of its return, instead of busying ourselves with fruitless actions which actively ensue its delay.
I remember some years ago, before I came to Islam, I was travelling in Morocco with a young Jewish girl who told me about how her parents envisaged settling in Israel one day from the UK, as their ultimate dream. At that time all I knew about Israel was, that it was a place in the middle east which came up in the news now and again, but didn't really know why and I wasn't that bothered either. When I returned to the UK, I ambled through some news pages in a vague attempt to maybe find out about this Israel. All I read was Israel was suffering at the hands of Palestinians and Palestinians were suffering at the hands of Israelis. Seemed like another classic conflict situation with some sort of history I'd never get but I hoped, as a passing thought, that both sides would meet in the middle somewhere. Thats classic conflict mediation isn't it, even in marriages, it's all about meeting somewhere in the middle; compromise. Both sides had to do their bit.
A couple of years later, my attachment to my Muslim brethren, urged me to read up on the history of Palestine and Israel. I read about a group of people homeless in Europe. I read about them set their eyes on a land they not only wanted to live in, but rule over. I read about them coming into Palestine and throwing people out of their homes, bulldozing them down and making people refugees in their own land. I read about bloodshed, I read about their domination, occupation spreading like a infectious disease. I read about their sophisticated missiles and tanks, whose design, manufacture was aided in Britain and America; massacre families, and the resistance of the Palestinians named as terrorism. Palestinians who grew up generation after generation in the muddy squalor of refugee camps in their own land attempted to fight this occupation with whatever they had. I read it all. Then came the wall, the blockades and the intense attacks of the last few days.
This was Israel. This was occupation, domination and suffering to the nth degee whilst the world watched, calling it deeply saddening and terribly appalling, but never wrong.
There have been many demos over the last few days, asking Israel to stop the attacks - and despite news reports saying that they won't until Hamas does, we must be slightly loopy if we ever believe they will put an end to their agenda which has been ruthlessly undertaken over the past century. And the West - they will never verbalise Israel's cruelty, as they are the ones who set the cannon loose and gave the go-ahead all those years ago. It's a silence that will never be broken in Washington or London, and if we don't own up to this, we continue to leave the suffering Palestinians stranded in a problem which has been sugarcoated and sold to us as a solution through roadmaps and ceasefires.
The solution lies in a place which we don't always look. Like a action-packed thriller, where the director misguides you into thinking who the killer is, masking the real one in order to create that all breath-taking twist, the Muslims will also face their twist. The realisation that sustainable change can only come from the solution Allah SWT gives us for our politics. Lobbying MPs, pressuring Israel, all these things serve to divert us from the real solution - the armies of the Muslim lands - who did they stand to defend? The thousands and thousands of people, weaponry who make up the Muslim armies - where and for what reason do they stand idle?
Allah SWT will ask the rulers of the Muslim world, where were their ears and their eyes as the missiles fell, one after the other? These rulers we know prefer to shake the hands of the perpetrators than straighten them, in order to keep their seats of power. But Allah Almighty is the owner of the Heavens and the Earth, and it is He who can destroy all 50+ of them and their kingdoms in a fell swoop and one day InshaAllah He will. There will come a day, as Allah SWT has promised where just Islamic rule will return to this Earth and liberate all the oppressed. This is the only solution which can pool together the resources of the Muslim world, and create the unity to enable a resistance which stands to the likes as those of Israel. This is the solution which doesn't accept a few Palestinian homes being returned, or a few Palestinians being allowed to work - This is the solution which will return an uncompromising rule of law which favours no race, only justice, to the Arabian plains. I pray that we are strong enough to remember this and become part of its return, instead of busying ourselves with fruitless actions which actively ensue its delay.
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